This series looks at what happens when the FM17 Draft Mode is used to create a World Cup where each nation is represented by players who play in each country. For the full explanation of how this tournament will work, see our Introduction.
After the two previous groups, which both went down to the wire, what will Group C have in store for us? The top seeds here are Ukraine, who should fancy their chances in a relatively weak group. Their main threat will be Greece, whilst North Africa and Slovenia are capable of causing an upset. East Asia and Iceland will probably have a tough time, but after Euro 2016 it would be foolish to write off the Icelandic.
After the two previous groups, which both went down to the wire, what will Group C have in store for us? The top seeds here are Ukraine, who should fancy their chances in a relatively weak group. Their main threat will be Greece, whilst North Africa and Slovenia are capable of causing an upset. East Asia and Iceland will probably have a tough time, but after Euro 2016 it would be foolish to write off the Icelandic.
Ukraine
Natalia Ukraine has her side playing a formation which could be described as a 4-1-3-2, but might be closer to a 4-2-4. Will this be a step too far on the aggressive side?
Taras Stepanenko is the side’s most valuable player, and he will have a lot to do to protect the back four in such a bold formation. Stepanenko’s Shakhtar teammate Taison is the next-most valuable player, and he leads a contingent of six Brazilians. There are three Croatian internationals, with the vastly experienced Darijo Srna leading the defence, which also contains Domagoj Vida, whilst the front line is led by Eduardo, he of 6 goals in 41 league matches for Arsenal.
Greece
Taras Stepanenko is the side’s most valuable player, and he will have a lot to do to protect the back four in such a bold formation. Stepanenko’s Shakhtar teammate Taison is the next-most valuable player, and he leads a contingent of six Brazilians. There are three Croatian internationals, with the vastly experienced Darijo Srna leading the defence, which also contains Domagoj Vida, whilst the front line is led by Eduardo, he of 6 goals in 41 league matches for Arsenal.
Greece
Xandra Hellas is playing a narrow 4-3-2-1, usually known as the Christmas Tree formation, although I think it sounds more like a New Year’s Eve countdown. Her side has the total value of £166m, so Greece will certainly be aiming for an automatic qualification spot.
The spearhead to this spear-shaped side is Marcus Berg, once hot property after being player of the 2009 U21 Euros. Despite not going on the big things many expected, his 43 goals in 70 appearances for Panathinaikos is no mean feat. He should get chances thanks to the creativity of Fortounis and Mantalos behind him, whilst the defence is marshalled by Dmytro Chygrynskyi, who was once signed from Shakhtar by Barcelona for £22.5m, but moved back the other way for £10m less a year later.
Iceland
The spearhead to this spear-shaped side is Marcus Berg, once hot property after being player of the 2009 U21 Euros. Despite not going on the big things many expected, his 43 goals in 70 appearances for Panathinaikos is no mean feat. He should get chances thanks to the creativity of Fortounis and Mantalos behind him, whilst the defence is marshalled by Dmytro Chygrynskyi, who was once signed from Shakhtar by Barcelona for £22.5m, but moved back the other way for £10m less a year later.
Iceland
Taking inspiration from Iceland’s famous exploits at Euro 2016, Gils Iceland is playing a 4-4-2 with two defensive midfielders. The side will just look to frustrate the opposition before getting it up to the two strikers, who will have to cope without much support. Iceland will need all the luck they can get, with a squad value of £14m they are clearly one of the group’s minnows.
The vast majority of the team are journeymen who have pottered around the Scandinavian leagues. The most notable name is back-up goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen, the first-ever Faroese player to play in the English Premiership when replacing Shay Given for Man City. The key player is right midfielder Hedinsson, who has experience of the top Danish league.
Slovenia
The vast majority of the team are journeymen who have pottered around the Scandinavian leagues. The most notable name is back-up goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen, the first-ever Faroese player to play in the English Premiership when replacing Shay Given for Man City. The key player is right midfielder Hedinsson, who has experience of the top Danish league.
Slovenia
Fitting his side into a straightforward 4-2-3-1, Enej Slovenscina has a side totalling £52m, which is significantly less than the top two seeds in the group, but enough to be competitive; Slovakia have already qualified for the play-offs from Group A with a cheaper squad.
There are two in this squad with values far higher than the rest. Firstly, Andraz Kirm on the wing is a solid all-round player, whilst up front a 37-year old Milivoje Novakovic has 31 goals in 76 appearances for the Slovenian national team. The bench contains Danijel Pranjic, once of Bayern Munich but now with FC Luka Koper.
North Africa
There are two in this squad with values far higher than the rest. Firstly, Andraz Kirm on the wing is a solid all-round player, whilst up front a 37-year old Milivoje Novakovic has 31 goals in 76 appearances for the Slovenian national team. The bench contains Danijel Pranjic, once of Bayern Munich but now with FC Luka Koper.
North Africa
The majority of this team come from the Egyptian league, one of Africa’s strongest. There are also players cherry-picked from the leagues of Morocco, Sudan, Libya and Tunisia. With a total value of £118m, North Africa are the de facto third-favourites in this group, despite being in the bottom tier of seeding.
The side is set up to counter, with a 5-1-3-1 formation which will be difficult to find space against. A lot will rest on lone man Yannick N’Djeng, a former African Champions League winner with ES Tunis. The team also contains Ahmed Fathy, a three-time African Cup of Nations winner, who has had spells in England with Sheffield United and Hull City.
East Asia
The side is set up to counter, with a 5-1-3-1 formation which will be difficult to find space against. A lot will rest on lone man Yannick N’Djeng, a former African Champions League winner with ES Tunis. The team also contains Ahmed Fathy, a three-time African Cup of Nations winner, who has had spells in England with Sheffield United and Hull City.
East Asia
In theory, East Asia could have been quite a dangerous opposition, as the region includes Japan. However, for some reason (presumably licensing) there seemed to be very few Japan-based players available in the draw. Therefore, the majority of the squad are based in the North Korean league, with one player from the Mongolian league, and two from the Japanese league (neither of whom are Japanese). The side totals to £34m, but with a very large caveat; it contains Hong Yong-Jo, a decent AMC, but inexplicably rated at £30m. So in reality, this squad is more likely worth £5m, putting them firmly in Iceland’s category.
Hong isn’t even the best player in the side, with that honour taken by Ri Myong-Guk, the North Korean national keeper. Ri is the only GK in the squad, because Kim Myong-Won, a striker by trade, is “Competent” in goal. In summary, this is a slightly bizarre squad.
Hong isn’t even the best player in the side, with that honour taken by Ri Myong-Guk, the North Korean national keeper. Ri is the only GK in the squad, because Kim Myong-Won, a striker by trade, is “Competent” in goal. In summary, this is a slightly bizarre squad.
Matches 1-5
Despite the huge gulf between the sides, East Asia give Ukraine a real scare. They run them close in their opening game, and the match is only settled by Junior Morais’ close-range shot 16 minutes before the end. North Africa put down a marker with a 4-1 win over Slovenia, despite only having 8 shots in the match. The final game saw Greece struggle to overcome Iceland 2-1. Iceland had led, but picking up a red card just after Greece equalised meant they couldn’t hold on for a point.
The Greeks had clearly picked up from Iceland how to play as the underdog, overcoming Ukraine 2-1 despite being significantly outplayed. East Asia gave another good showing, this time against Slovenia, but once again couldn’t prevent a 1-0 defeat - Vrsic’s neat free kick was the difference in this match. In Reykjavik there was a solid 2-0 win for North Africa.
Despite the huge gulf between the sides, East Asia give Ukraine a real scare. They run them close in their opening game, and the match is only settled by Junior Morais’ close-range shot 16 minutes before the end. North Africa put down a marker with a 4-1 win over Slovenia, despite only having 8 shots in the match. The final game saw Greece struggle to overcome Iceland 2-1. Iceland had led, but picking up a red card just after Greece equalised meant they couldn’t hold on for a point.
The Greeks had clearly picked up from Iceland how to play as the underdog, overcoming Ukraine 2-1 despite being significantly outplayed. East Asia gave another good showing, this time against Slovenia, but once again couldn’t prevent a 1-0 defeat - Vrsic’s neat free kick was the difference in this match. In Reykjavik there was a solid 2-0 win for North Africa.
Things continue to go against the smallest teams when East Asia lost 3-1 in Athens, whilst Iceland lost 1-0 at home to Slovenia. Haukur Pall Sigurdsson is dismissed for the second time in two games, ensuring that he’s the least popular member of his side. In the other tie Ukraine travelled to North Africa. Hosny Abd Rabo opened the scoring with a scorcher from the edge of the box, but Ukraine levelled through a Kucher header. North Africa had the better of the chances, and they were the ones to take the points after N’Djeng poked home to secure a 2-1 win.
At this stage, both North Africa and Greece had won every match, and they met next. The match was a close one between two organised teams, and it took a snapshot from Greece’s Gojko Cimirot to decide the tie. In a mirror scenario, East Asia and Iceland had lost every fixture and met in Reykjavik. Iceland were the ones to get their first points, Fridjonsson’s header being the only goal. Elsewhere Slovenia and Ukraine continued their patchy form with a 2-2 draw, Taison’s 85th-minute equaliser saving the match for Ukraine.
This seemed to give Ukraine a boost, their next performance also being their first convincing one. A 5-0 demolition of Iceland could have been even more, with 27 shots for Ukraine. East Asia went down to yet another narrow defeat, losing 1-0 to North Africa. In the final match of the round Greece edged a narrow match against Slovenia 2-1 to continue their 100% record.
At the halfway stage, the table looked like this:
This seemed to give Ukraine a boost, their next performance also being their first convincing one. A 5-0 demolition of Iceland could have been even more, with 27 shots for Ukraine. East Asia went down to yet another narrow defeat, losing 1-0 to North Africa. In the final match of the round Greece edged a narrow match against Slovenia 2-1 to continue their 100% record.
At the halfway stage, the table looked like this:
In fact, each team in the table has beaten every team above them, and lost to every team below them – with the exception of Ukraine and Slovenia’s draw. Ukraine, the group’s top seeds, are already a formidable eight points away from top spot, and even the five points between them and North Africa is no small gap.
Squad changes
Ukraine’s campaign thus far has been underwhelming, and so to try and reinvigorate it, they cull Rotan, Kravets and Forster from the squad, none of whom had played a minute. This allows them to bring in Lukasz Teodorczyk and Victor Kovalenko. Teodorczky is signed as a replacement in the starting XI for a woefully underperforming Eduardo.
The other teams have no major injury worries, and so the only changes we see are Iceland bringing in Emil Palsson as cover for the oft-suspended Sigurdsson (who is absurdly averaging 7.43), and Greece bringing in the undoubted class of Esteban Cambiasso.
Matches 6-9
Squad changes
Ukraine’s campaign thus far has been underwhelming, and so to try and reinvigorate it, they cull Rotan, Kravets and Forster from the squad, none of whom had played a minute. This allows them to bring in Lukasz Teodorczyk and Victor Kovalenko. Teodorczky is signed as a replacement in the starting XI for a woefully underperforming Eduardo.
The other teams have no major injury worries, and so the only changes we see are Iceland bringing in Emil Palsson as cover for the oft-suspended Sigurdsson (who is absurdly averaging 7.43), and Greece bringing in the undoubted class of Esteban Cambiasso.
Matches 6-9
Teodorczky has an immediate impact for Ukraine, getting the opening goal and setting up another in a 4-0 rout of East Asia. Iceland looked to have matched Greece at home, but in the 84th minute that man Sigurdsson picked up his third red card of the campaign (from four matches!), and that led to a Ukrainian winner three minutes later, Chygrynskyi poking home after a corner hadn’t been cleared. The best match of the round was undoubtedly Slovenia’s 3-3 draw with North Africa. North Africa led 1-0 and 3-2 whilst Slovenia had led 2-1. Four of the goals came in the final 15 minutes, and the whole match provided evidence as to why teams should practice defending set pieces.
The match seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of both sides, as they fell to surprising defeats in their next games. Firstly, North Africa lost 1-0 at home to Iceland, thanks to Porvaldsson’s header. North Africa’s 24 shots to Iceland’s 4 probably left the hosts wondering how they failed to win. Meanwhile, East Asia got their first points of the group by beating Slovenia 2-0 thanks to a brace from Felipinho. Ukraine had a chance to move into the second automatic qualification spot, but went down 3-1 in Athens. Remarkably, they were 10/1 outsiders before kick-off, a sign that the in-game bookies use form significantly more than squad value.
Ukraine were able to take their second chance at moving into second, though, as they deservedly beat North Africa 1-0 thanks to a fantastic 82nd-minute free kick from Darijo Srna. Slovenia failed to take the chance to put pressure on for the play-off position, being pegged twice to draw 2-2 at home to Iceland. Despite a whopping 37 shots for Slovenia, Iceland had two clear-cut chances to their opponent’s none. The man of the match? Sigurdsson, who won an insane 23 tackles – 47% of all tackles won in the match! If this result was surprising, it was nothing compared to the result in East Asia, as Greece, whose record thus far was 7 wins from 7, went down 1-0 thanks to a first-half Hong penalty.
The match seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of both sides, as they fell to surprising defeats in their next games. Firstly, North Africa lost 1-0 at home to Iceland, thanks to Porvaldsson’s header. North Africa’s 24 shots to Iceland’s 4 probably left the hosts wondering how they failed to win. Meanwhile, East Asia got their first points of the group by beating Slovenia 2-0 thanks to a brace from Felipinho. Ukraine had a chance to move into the second automatic qualification spot, but went down 3-1 in Athens. Remarkably, they were 10/1 outsiders before kick-off, a sign that the in-game bookies use form significantly more than squad value.
Ukraine were able to take their second chance at moving into second, though, as they deservedly beat North Africa 1-0 thanks to a fantastic 82nd-minute free kick from Darijo Srna. Slovenia failed to take the chance to put pressure on for the play-off position, being pegged twice to draw 2-2 at home to Iceland. Despite a whopping 37 shots for Slovenia, Iceland had two clear-cut chances to their opponent’s none. The man of the match? Sigurdsson, who won an insane 23 tackles – 47% of all tackles won in the match! If this result was surprising, it was nothing compared to the result in East Asia, as Greece, whose record thus far was 7 wins from 7, went down 1-0 thanks to a first-half Hong penalty.
Given the recent upturn in form for the two minnows, it was possibly no surprise they played out a belter of a match when they faced each other. Hong opened the scoring with easily the best goal of this tournament so far, slaloming around three defenders before blasting the ball into the roof of the net from the edge of the box. By half time this lead was 3-0, but shortly after the break Doumbia headed one back for Iceland. In the 83rd minute a Baldvinsson header crept under Ri, and three minutes later an East Asian free kick was cleared, and a pitch-long Icelandic move was finished by Porvaldsson for an epic 3-3 draw. Abd Rabo managed to score both goals as North Africa drew 1-1 in Athens. This result meant that Slovenia had to win in Kyiv to have any hope of finishing in the top three, but a comprehensive 3-0 for Ukraine put paid to that.
So, going into the final round of matches, the table looks like this:
This means that Greece had wrapped up top spot (they had actually done this after Ukraine’s win over North Africa), whilst Slovenia, Iceland and East Asia are already eliminated. So the matches of interest are North Africa vs. East Asia, where the hosts need to win to have a chance of overtaking Ukraine, who realistically just need a point when they face Iceland. So let’s see how the final round of matches went.
Greece vs. Slovenia
Greece are assured of top spot, whilst Slovenia’s poor form (3 points from a possible 18 since their last win) has seen them fade out of the reckoning in this group. Their match is a very muted affair, but Brown Ideye’s close-range volley in injury time records an eighth win for the group winners.
North Africa vs. East Asia
North Africa were in a great position at halfway into this campaign, but two wins and two draws after the break meant they were usurped by Ukraine. Slovenia’s slide means they are guaranteed a play-off position, but a win here gives them a chance of overtaking Ukraine. Even if they don’t, a win improves their chances of automatic qualification as one of the best third-placed teams.
North Africa’s slip from the halfway stage this campaign might be due to a lack of quality on their bench, and for this reason they stick with their usual XI. East Asia’s best player (both in terms of value and performance), Hong Yong-Jo, is suspended due to an accumulation of yellows, and so they have to bring in Ri Yong-Gwang.
Greece vs. Slovenia
Greece are assured of top spot, whilst Slovenia’s poor form (3 points from a possible 18 since their last win) has seen them fade out of the reckoning in this group. Their match is a very muted affair, but Brown Ideye’s close-range volley in injury time records an eighth win for the group winners.
North Africa vs. East Asia
North Africa were in a great position at halfway into this campaign, but two wins and two draws after the break meant they were usurped by Ukraine. Slovenia’s slide means they are guaranteed a play-off position, but a win here gives them a chance of overtaking Ukraine. Even if they don’t, a win improves their chances of automatic qualification as one of the best third-placed teams.
North Africa’s slip from the halfway stage this campaign might be due to a lack of quality on their bench, and for this reason they stick with their usual XI. East Asia’s best player (both in terms of value and performance), Hong Yong-Jo, is suspended due to an accumulation of yellows, and so they have to bring in Ri Yong-Gwang.
A quiet first-half finally gets a goal just before the break, a technically perfect volley from Mustafa putting North Africa ahead. With no other first-half highlights, North Africa wouldn’t complain if the second half was just as quiet.
As it happens, North Africa kick the half off, get the ball out wide to Noussair, and his cross is powered in by N’Djeng. Adb Rabo shortly adds a third with a blasted free kick from the edge of the box, and North Africa can relax. With ten minutes left, and the game up, East Asia bring on striker Kim Myong-Wo in goal, because why not. He doesn’t have any shots to face, and the game peters out to a 3-0 win for North Africa. All they can do now is hope Ukraine lose in Reykjavik.
As it happens, North Africa kick the half off, get the ball out wide to Noussair, and his cross is powered in by N’Djeng. Adb Rabo shortly adds a third with a blasted free kick from the edge of the box, and North Africa can relax. With ten minutes left, and the game up, East Asia bring on striker Kim Myong-Wo in goal, because why not. He doesn’t have any shots to face, and the game peters out to a 3-0 win for North Africa. All they can do now is hope Ukraine lose in Reykjavik.
Iceland vs. Ukraine
A very solid second half to the campaign from Ukraine has put them firmly in control for the race for automatic qualification, but they still need a point against an Iceland team who have been a tricky opponent for many teams.
Iceland have a number of underperforming players in defence – however they are protected by the ludicrous Sigurdsson, who I can only assume tackles everything he sees, regardless of the likelihood he’ll win the ball. Ukraine’s only change is to bring in Kovalenko to play out wide in place of Alan Patrick.
A very solid second half to the campaign from Ukraine has put them firmly in control for the race for automatic qualification, but they still need a point against an Iceland team who have been a tricky opponent for many teams.
Iceland have a number of underperforming players in defence – however they are protected by the ludicrous Sigurdsson, who I can only assume tackles everything he sees, regardless of the likelihood he’ll win the ball. Ukraine’s only change is to bring in Kovalenko to play out wide in place of Alan Patrick.
Six minutes in, Taison rattled the underside of the Icelandic crossbar, and in the 20th minute Ukrainian nerves were soothed as Fred’s shot was deflected in via Doumbia. Just two minutes later Morais was played through and doubled the lead. At half time Iceland take Baldvinsson off for Bamberg to play in the chasm between midfield and attack.
However, this did little to stem Ukraine’s dominance, and five minutes after the break Taison tapped in a third. Little else happened in the half, and Ukraine sailed into the Draft World Cup. As for Sigurdsson, the most interesting player this tournament by far, he rated a 7.7 (huge for a team losing 3-0), thanks to another match-leading tackling performance, with 13 out of 14 tackles won. I love this guy, I can only imagine he goes around the pitch wearing the metatarsals of players he's previously faced on a necklace.
However, this did little to stem Ukraine’s dominance, and five minutes after the break Taison tapped in a third. Little else happened in the half, and Ukraine sailed into the Draft World Cup. As for Sigurdsson, the most interesting player this tournament by far, he rated a 7.7 (huge for a team losing 3-0), thanks to another match-leading tackling performance, with 13 out of 14 tackles won. I love this guy, I can only imagine he goes around the pitch wearing the metatarsals of players he's previously faced on a necklace.
Final results
Qualified for the Draft World Cup: Yorkshire, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine
3rd place (either automatic qualification or play-offs): Peru, North Africa, Slovakia
Best average rating: Darijo Srna (UKR) 7.70; Taras Stepanenko (UKR) 7.67; Junior Morais (UKR) 7.66
Most goals: Yannick N’Djeng (NAF) 7; Junior Morais (UKR) 6; Berg, Fortounis (GRE), Abd Rabo (NAF), Taison (UKR) 4
Team of the group: Kapino (GRE); Elabdellaoui (GRE), Srna (UKR), Kucher (UKR), Leovac (GRE); Sigurdsson (ICE), Stepanenko (UKR), Abd Rabo (NAF), Fortounis (GRE); Moraes (UKR), N’Djeng (NAF)
Match of the group: East Asia 3-3 Iceland
Goal of the group
You can vote for the goal of the group using the tabs below - you can view GIFs of the three candidates and vote.
3rd place (either automatic qualification or play-offs): Peru, North Africa, Slovakia
Best average rating: Darijo Srna (UKR) 7.70; Taras Stepanenko (UKR) 7.67; Junior Morais (UKR) 7.66
Most goals: Yannick N’Djeng (NAF) 7; Junior Morais (UKR) 6; Berg, Fortounis (GRE), Abd Rabo (NAF), Taison (UKR) 4
Team of the group: Kapino (GRE); Elabdellaoui (GRE), Srna (UKR), Kucher (UKR), Leovac (GRE); Sigurdsson (ICE), Stepanenko (UKR), Abd Rabo (NAF), Fortounis (GRE); Moraes (UKR), N’Djeng (NAF)
Match of the group: East Asia 3-3 Iceland
Goal of the group
You can vote for the goal of the group using the tabs below - you can view GIFs of the three candidates and vote.
Next time
The highest-ranked team in the game, Spain, start their campaign. They have to contend with Chile and Poland. It should be straightforward, but so far no top seed has won their group.
The highest-ranked team in the game, Spain, start their campaign. They have to contend with Chile and Poland. It should be straightforward, but so far no top seed has won their group.